Effective and Efficient Writing Instruction for Students Receiving Special Education Services

For many reasons, most practicing and preservice teachers probably would not be surprised to learn that, historically, writing instruction has taken a back seat to reading and mathematics instruction (Graham & Harris, 2013). However, effective writing instruction is now recognized because of a growing awareness that good writing skills are important to effective personal communication, success in post-secondary education, and success in the world of work (Vaughn et al., 2018). It has been reported that nearly 70 percent of salaried employees have some responsibility for writing (Graham et al., 2018).

According to “Teaching Elementary School Students to be Effective Writers: A Practice Guide” (Graham et al., 2018), the features of effective writing involve more than just putting on paper one’s oral language. Instead, it involves a process consisting of a writer carefully thinking about his purpose for writing, planning what to say, determining how to say it, and considering the reader’s perspective, particularly what the reader needs to know.

Furthermore, Graham et al. (2018) noted that effective writing instruction for elementary school students needs to be based on explicit instruction. This means that when a teacher presents instruction about a writing strategy a student needs to master, the teacher should (a) possess the necessary background knowledge and skills, (b) name the writing strategy and purpose for using it, (c) describe the strategy while modeling its use, and then (d) ensure the students receive the proper amount of guided practice before being expected to use the strategy on their own.

Additionally, these authors remarked that all students should have time allocated for writing instruction and practice. Kindergarten students should engage in writing instruction and practice at least 30 minutes per day. During this time, some of the earliest writing instruction will involve the teacher showing students how to hold a pencil between the thumb and forefinger while resting the pencil on the middle finger. Simultaneously, the teacher will demonstrate how to form each letter while subsequently providing guided practice that may involve letters with numbered arrows that depict the (a) order and (b) direction of each stroke. Over time, the teacher will systematically decrease the amount of time the student uses this visual support to learn how to form each letter from memory. Then, teachers need to arrange for students in 1st grade and above to be engaged in writing instruction and writing practice for at least 60 minutes per day.

Finally, Graham et al. (2018) commented that students can engage in writing practice when completing tasks in different subject matter areas. For instance, in science class, a student can be required to write a lab report; in social studies class, students can be directed to write an imaginary journal entry about a period under study, such as the Civil War; and, after reading a story in English class, students could be required to respond to a KWL prompt.

As you work through the content presented in this chapter, remain cognizant that the chapter’s focus is the presentation of effective writing instruction to elementary school students. You will have to apply what you have learned about intensive intervention that is based on explicit instruction to the information that is presented in this chapter. Interestingly, you will learn that explicit instruction is identified as a component of effective writing instruction for all elementary school students.

References

Graham, S., Bollinger, A., Booth Olson, C., D’Aoust, C., MacArthur, C., McCutchen, D., & Olinghouse,
N.(Updated 2018, 2012). Teaching elementary school students to be effective writers: A practice guide (NCEE 2012-4058). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Docs/PracticeGuide/WWC_Elem_Writing_PG_Dec182018.pdf or
wwc/publications_reviews.aspx#pubsearch

Graham, S., & Harris, K. R. (2013). Designing an effective writing program. In S. Graham, C. A. MacAurthur, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.). Best practices in writing instruction (2nd ed.). (pp. 3-25). Guilford.

Vaughn, S. R., Bos, C. S., & Schumm, J. S.  (2018).  Teaching students who are exceptional, diverse, and at risk in the general education classroom (7th edition). Pearson. ISBN 978-0134447261

Chapter Primer

The content in this chapter is based on the document “Teaching Elementary School Students to be Effective Writers: A Practice Guide.” This practice guide is characterized as a document that presents information about evidence-supported practices for addressing its topic, which is presenting writing instruction to elementary school students.

Learning Objectives

After working through the content presented in the section below – Overview of the Practice Guide – you should be able to

• Explain how students can engage in writing practice when completing tasks in different subject matter areas
• Discuss the features of handwriting practice and typing practice
• Identify the two sets of words that should be the focus of a teacher’s spelling instruction
• List the features of exemplary texts that teachers can expose students to for the purpose of developing the students’ writing skills

Overview of the Practice Guide

Before directing you to the guide, an overview of its content is presented below. This overview serves as a coherent, synthesized preview of many of the central points presented in the guide.

Effective writing instruction for elementary school students must be based on explicit instruction. This means that when a teacher presents instruction about a writing strategy a student needs to master, the teacher should (a) possess the necessary background knowledge and skills, (b) name the writing strategy and purpose for using it, (c) describe the strategy while modeling its use, and then (d) ensure the students receive the proper amount of guided practice before being expected to use the strategy on their own.

All students should have time allocated for writing instruction and practice. Kindergarten students should engage in writing instruction and practice at least 30 minutes per day. Teachers need to arrange for students in 1st grade and above to be engaged in writing instruction and writing practice for at least 60 minutes per day.

Students can practice writing when completing tasks in different subject matter areas. For instance, in science class, a student can be required to write a lab report; in social studies class, students can be directed to write an imaginary journal entry about a period under study, such as the Civil War; and, after reading a story in English class, students could be required to respond to a KWL prompt.

Some of the earliest writing instruction will involve the teacher showing students how to hold a pencil between the thumb and forefinger while resting the pencil on the middle finger. Simultaneously, the teacher will demonstrate how to form each letter while subsequently providing guided practice that may involve letters with numbered arrows that depict the (a) order and (b) direction of each stroke. Over time, the teacher will systematically decrease the amount of time the student uses this visual support to learn how to form each letter from memory.

Since handwriting is a motor skill, students should practice isolated writing skills in short sessions (i.e., write a designated letter 5-8 times). They also need to apply their skills in authentic tasks, such as writing several sentences in a note to their parents in which the student explained what they did that day in their reading lesson.

Typing is another way for students to produce legible text. Students should receive an introduction to typing by 1st grade and formal, regular typing practice should begin in 2nd grade. The use of typing tutorial software and periodic teacher monitoring of a student’s progress (e.g., use of correct posture and use of the correct fingers for the correct keys) can set the occasion for proper typing practice.

As with handwriting, typing is a motor skill that necessitates short practice sessions. Since most typing occurs on a computer with word processing software, students must be taught how to use the software. Particular attention must be paid to the software features often used, such as spell check.

As students apply their handwriting and word processing skills to writing assignments, the teacher must attend to spelling instruction. A teacher should focus on two sets of words: the correct spelling of high-frequency words (many of which are irregular words) and words a student often misspells. Teachers can use an explicit instruction strategy for teaching high-frequency, irregular words that incorporate phonics and sight word reading. For the longer, student-specific misspellings, the teacher can have a student use a personalized dictionary.

Over time, a student must be taught strategies she can use to determine a word’s spelling. Dictionaries, word study, and spelling words by analogy are three strategies.

Beginning in Kindergarten, teachers can address the topic of writing complete sentences. Teachers can show students the connection between students’ oral and written language by converting thoughts and ideas students express orally into properly constructed sentences. At this point, the teacher would establish that written expression is not a 100% match with oral expression. Furthermore, when properly constructing sentences, the teacher can present instructions about sentence mechanics, such as punctuation and capitalization.

Teachers also must show students how to write more than simple sentences. Strategies for teaching various sentence types include those presented in Table 7 on page 31 of the Practice Guide.

When appropriate, teachers should work with students to develop their ability to evaluate their sentences. Example evaluation criteria include clarity (“Does it make sense?”; “Is it easy to read?”) and intended audience (“Is it appropriate for the audience?”).

As students begin to write passages comprised of multiple paragraphs and, perhaps, multiple pages, they will need to be equipped with knowledge and skills about the writing process’s components. Strategies specific to each component of the writing process are presented in the table on page 16 of the Practice Guide.

Students also need to be taught techniques specific to their purpose for writing. Five examples of techniques specific to the four purposes of writing are presented in Table 5 on page 26 of the Practice Guide.

So that students do not conclude that everything they write is intended for a one-member audience – meaning the teacher – writing activities must be constructed so that they are appropriate for different audiences. Students need to learn to adjust their tone and word choice so that their writing is meaningful and appropriately suited for the intended audience.

To get students to see themselves as writers, teachers should consider ways to publish students’ work. An easy, direct way is to display students’ work in the classroom. Public publishing methods include posting students’ work in the hallway or on a classroom’s web page.

Finally, teachers must consider how exposing students to exemplary texts can contribute to their writing development. While these texts should come from a variety of sources, what is most important about them is that they (a) support the lesson’s instructional goals, (b) are appropriate for the student’s reading levels and abilities, and (c) provide exemplary models of what students are to write.

Teaching elementary school students to be effective writers: A practice guide

You are to read the IES Practice Guide “Teaching elementary school students to be effective writers: A practice guide.”

Access the full guide and not just the summary.

This practice guide, from the Institute of Education Sciences/What Works Clearinghouse, provides four recommendations for improving elementary students’ writing. Each recommendation includes implementation steps and solutions for common roadblocks. The recommendations also summarize and rate supporting evidence. Note that this guide is geared toward teachers, literacy coaches, and other educators who want to improve elementary students’ writing.

After reading pages 1-39 in the Practice Guide, and consulting its glossary, you should be able to

• Explain how to carry out Recommendation 1: Provide daily time for students to write
• Discuss the suggested approach for addressing Roadblock 1.1: There is not enough time in the school day to devote an hour each day to writing instruction.
• Explain how to use the following strategy – Teach students strategies for the various components of the writing process – to carry out Recommendation 2a: Teach students strategies for the various components of the writing process
• Explain how to use the following strategy – Help students understand the different purposes of writing – to carry out Recommendation 2b: Teach students to write for a variety of purposes
• Explain how to use the following four strategies – (a) Teach very young writers how to hold a pencil correctly and form letters fluently and efficiently; (b) Teach students to spell words correctly; (c) Teach students to construct sentences for fluency, meaning, and style; and (d) Teach students to type fluently and to use a word processor to compose – to carry out Recommendation 3: Teach students to become fluent with handwriting, spelling, sentence construction, typing, and word processing
• Discuss the suggested approach for addressing Roadblock 3.1: Students struggle to develop handwriting and spelling skills, making writing a frustrating experience.
• Discuss the suggested approach for addressing Roadblock 3.2: Students do not consistently transfer words they have learned successfully in their spelling lessons to their written compositions.
• Discuss the suggested approach for addressing Roadblock 4.1: Teachers may be uncomfortable with their own writing and therefore hesitant to share their writing and discuss the writing process with their students.
• Discuss the suggested approach for addressing Roadblock 4.2: If students are allowed to choose their own topics for writing, teachers may not be able to focus on the content standards adequately.
• Discuss the suggested approach for addressing Roadblock 4.3: Providing feedback on all student writing is overwhelming and time consuming.
• Discuss the components of the writing process
• State the definitions, that are presented in the Glossary, for the following three terms: writing skills, gradual release of responsibility, and writing

No Cost Resources Pertaining to This Topic

Each item below is a no cost resource that presents information pertaining to some aspect of this chapter’s focus, which is effective and efficient writing instruction for students receiving special education services. To access a resource, use the link provided.

Spelling This is a component of the course “Reading 101” from Reading Rockets. The website states that this component emphasizes that, “Good spellers aren’t born, they are taught! Nearly 90 percent of English words can be spelled if a student knows basic patterns, principles and rules of spelling.”

Writing This is a component of the course “Reading 101” from Reading Rockets. The website remarks about the challenges students face in learning to become good writers by remarking that, “Writing may be the most difficult thing our students learn in school because it requires them to apply what they have learned as readers (phonics, vocabulary, text structure), plus additional skills (planning, considering audience, handwriting, revising, etc.) to generate their own work. But just as explicit and sequential instruction can help ensure that all students learn to read, the same is true for writing. To enable our students to write well, we need to help them by explicitly teaching the components of effective writing.”

Teaching Elementary School Students to be Effective Writers: A Practice Guide This practice guide, which is geared toward teachers, literacy coaches, and other educators who want to improve the writing of their elementary students, is from the What Works Clearinghouse. The guide provides four recommendations for improving elementary students’ writing. Each recommendation includes implementation steps and solutions for common roadblocks. The recommendations also summarize and rate supporting evidence.

Instructional Tips Based on the Educator’s Practice Guide Teaching Elementary School Students to be Effective Writers This document is also from the What Works Clearinghouse. According to the document, the What Works Clearinghouse’s “Instructional Tips” are documents that help educators carry out recommendations contained in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Educator’s Practice Guides. The tips translate these recommendations into actionable approaches that educators can try in their classrooms. Each set of instructional tips highlights a key concept and presents relevant how-to steps pertaining to recommendations contained in an IES Educator’s Practice Guide, that are actionable and supported by evidence. The tips in the document that can be obtained using the link above, are based on the practice guide “Teaching Elementary School Students to be Effective Writers: A Practice Guide.”